Archive for August, 2011

While I was on holiday with family in Cornwall this year my youngest niece came back from a day out with this lovely little cuddly pig. It is made out of a really soft plush corduroy with a really interesting texture. I couldn’t resist trying to capture this little character on paper.

This was quite a quick sketch. I started by blocking out the colour of the pig and it’s shadow using watercolours with a large brush. I then added the shade using pencil crayon and finally picked out the highlight colour and texture of the corduroy using a white conte crayon and using the rough grain of the watercolour paper.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was thinking of revisiting the patterns I saw in the clusters of mussels found on the rocks on the north coast of Cornwall. This, in addition to the beautiful colours of the Cornish sea provided the inspiration for my abstract drawing ‘Cluster’.

The original drawing ‘Cluster’ is now for sale in my etsy shop here for £30. It measures 7″x10″ in size, is drawn on rough grain mould made cotton watercolour paper and was created using a fountain pen with Noodlers Bulletproof black ink and coloured using Prismacolour pencils. All materials used are of archival quality and should resist fading or discolouring over time.

It’s been a while since I have done any location sketching and it seems I am a little rusty. When I met up with Drawing London on Location a few weeks ago I spent most of the day struggling with the perspective on Shad Thames. I didn’t manage to complete the drawing but while my friend Jon and I were sat on the floor sketching we did get to learn a little of the history of the area. A young lady passing by stopped to chat to us and asked if we knew anything about the area. We thought she was asking as she wanted to know for herself but it turned out that she has lived in the area all her life and thought that as we were interested enough to sketch the buildings she loved, we would probably like to know more about them.

Shad Thames, completed in the 1870s, was apparently the spice district of London and the warehouse buildings that we were sitting amongst were originally used to store spices shipped in via the Thames. She pointed out that the building we were sitting next to was used to store salt and that the walls were so inpregnated with salt that they would never hold a coat of paint. She also pointed out the spices stored in several of the other buildings and explained that the building opposite us was used to store Cardamom and apparently still smells of Cardamom whenever it rains. Though less so since the area was renovated by Terance Conran and all of the buildings were cleared out and converted into up market housing and restaurants etc. Before this, the area had sat empty and unused for some time but when it was at it’s industrial height and the warehouses in Shad Thames were being built, the area had captured the imagination of Charles Dickens who based the story Oliver Twist around an inlet just a little further down the river. Hopefully I have remembered and recounted what she said faithfully.

I think I have mentioned before how sitting and sketching in public makes you fair game and available for conversation. Even in a place like London where people tend to be anonymous and insular. Sometimes this is a pain especially if you feel self-conscious about drawing in public. But every now and then you meet someone who has something very interesting to say and has obvious passion for their subject matter and I feel very glad that I have this chance to open myself up to Londoners who I would not normally have the chance to speak with.

As the day drew on I realised I was not going to get much further with my drawing of Shad Thames and I was craving putting some colour to paper so I moved on to do a quick 40 min landscape watercolour sketch of Tower Bridge from the Waterfront near the Design Museum. I may go back to finish the Shad Thames sketch but Mat convinced me to scan it as it is. For some reason he really likes it as it is.

Well I have been full of cold and not very productive for the past week or so. I have a few bits ready to scan and put up here but, between work, sleeping and generally feeling grotty I’m afraid I do not have much of my own to say.

Lorrie is auctioning two of her beautiful original illustrations and all of the proceeds will go to UNICEF.

Falling Leaves – By Lorrie Whittington

Lorrie says:

“As we are all aware, there is a crisis in Africa; drought, conflict, escalating food prices have created a serious shortage bordering on famine, and it’s getting worse. They need our aid, children are dying, more will die soon. To that end I am auctioning two of my original illustrations never before offered for sale, as I had not intended to part with them. However, I feel that this is an important cause, so there we have it.”

Autumn Leaves – By Lorrie Whittington

It can be very hard to part with something you have created with love and have a particular affection for. Each illustration has a starting bid of £20 but Lorrie would never normally part with an illustration for this little let alone ones that she is attached to in this way so please support this very worthy cause generously so that Lorrie knows that it was worthwhile.